1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a novel and improved bedcovering, and in particular, a top sheet structure having a pocket at the end to fit over the end of a mattress, together with a billowing portion of the material of the structure at each corner to provide a space of a loose part of the top sheet over a person's feet under the sheet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fitted top sheets on mattresses have been known and described in the prior art. Such a fitted top sheet aids in the maintenance of the top sheet in position on a mattress. The use of these fitted top sheets on mattresses helps in making beds and retaining the sheet in position on the mattress.
A general difficulty with such fitted top sheets, however, resides both in application to the mattress and in the ability of a person lying under the top sheet to move his/her feet around because of the tight fit of the bottom of the sheet on the mattress. The fitted top sheet being under tension on the mattress exacerbates this tight fit. Further, during sleep, attempts to move the sleepers feet around without pulling the top sheet from the mattress are rendered very difficult.
A prior art construction to aid in the application of a top sheet to a mattress is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,744. Here a top sheet is attached to a mattress by way of an end fitting of the top sheet having an expandable end pocket that fits over the end of the mattress. The end pocket is constructed by having expandable connections at the seams between the edges of the end pocket and also across the entire width of the end of the top sheet. In this prior construction elastic material is placed into the seam between the sides of the end pocket connection to itself. Also the primary feature of such elastic material is that it may be placed entirely along the edge of the end of the top sheet.
A difficulty with this prior construction occurs in the elastic material being under tension after being placed on the mattress so that the top sheet is formed tightly over the mattress. Such maintaining of the sheet tightly over the mattress prevents a person lying under the top sheet to freely and easily move his/her feet around.
Another prior arrangement of top sheets for beds may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,128. This prior patent shows a fitted top sheet having a rectangular piece of fabric being cut away at the two bottom corners. Each of these corners is cut away in two square notches with the outer sides being sewn together to form a pocket to be fitted on the corners of a mattress. A band of stretchable material is sewn to the sides of the remaining square notches and to the edge end of the top sheet. This band of stretchable material holds the pocket onto the end of the mattress, as well as the corners. Thereafter, the top sheet construction is stated to provide foot room between the top sheet and a bottom sheet previously fitted onto the mattress because the band of stretchable material can be further expanded.
The patent provides ease in making a bed having a fitted top sheet. However, the top sheet is fit tightly over the mattress with further stretching of the stretchable material being necessary to place feet comfortably beneath the top sheet. Moreover, a complicated technique is needed to form and provide the pocket before it is installed onto the bed or mattress.
Also the prior art seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,440 shows a similar construction to the previously noted prior art in that a top sheet is formed with a box-like structure at one end to be fitted over the end edge of a mattress. This provides a partially fitted top sheet to not only enable making up of the bed initially, but also to help make the bed with the same sheets after their use. The feature of this patent enables neat and snug fitting of the top sheet to the bed with the further allowance of a sufficient overhang to provide both foot and body room under the top sheet. An elastic material is secured to extend entirely along the bottom portion of the top sheet between the side portions of the sheet. This elastic material is attached in an outstretched condition to cause the ends of the side portions of the sheet to be drawn toward one another when fitted onto a mattress, thereby causing a tight fit of the top sheet at the end portions of the bed.
Again, while ease in making the bed is achieved, a tight fit to the top sheet over the feet of a person at the end of the bed may occur. Also the technique of forming this structure becomes complicated and difficult to form.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,735 provides a top sheet having arcuate cut-outs at the foot end of the bed. These cut-outs enable a pocket to be formed along the bottom of the top sheet with side flaps formed at the corners with elastic strips inserted along the arcuate cut-off portions. This structure enables the top sheet to fit snugly over the foot of the bed so as to not come loose. The same difficulty as in the previous prior art of providing a tight top sheet at the foot end of the mattress and having a complicated formation of such structure occurs with this reference.
In the prior art references of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,042,098 and 4,308,626 attempts were made to provide space under the top sheet for a person's feet. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,098 a pleat is provided across the foot end of a top sheet. The pleat is formed by folding a middle portion of the foot end over between cut-out corners to provide an overlapping relationship and securing the cut edges of each corner together. Elastic material is fixed along the edge from a seam line at the pleat from one side around to the other side of the sheet to fix the corners of the sheet over the mattress. The pleat then provides room for the feet below the top sheet. However, this space is formed between the elasticized fittings of the corners, which maintain a taut fitting on the sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,626 provides an arrangement of a fitted top sheet having provisions for an expansion space. This bed sheet has a fitted end placed over the end edge of the mattress, and two sewn portions at each end form a fitted sheet with an upright part for the feet of a person. The placing of the sheet onto the mattress is made by using a maximum mattress-to-cover distance that is greater than the thickness of the mattress to provide a space above the mattress. This space is further formed by cuts into the sheet at the corners and sides of the sheet which cuts are sewn together.
While space is provided for the feet under the top sheet in this prior arrangement, the maintenance of the top sheet in place on the mattress can be disturbed since there is no feature for holding the sheet in place on the mattress. No elastic or elasticized material is provided to prevent pulling of the sheet from the mattress by someone in the bed who moves around during sleep.
In all of the prior art using elasticized strips for holding the top sheet onto the mattress, the features of the present invention of providing a bedcovering on the mattress without any tension from elastic material does not exist in the prior art. Further, the additional feature of the present invention of providing corners of the fitted bedcovering with sufficient material to provide space under the covering for a person's feet is also not found in the prior art. It is the purpose of the present invention to provide these features in a bedcovering or top sheet structure.